My book “Travel as a Political Act” is now out in its third edition — in print (at bookstores and at www.ricksteves.com/political-act-book) and as an audiobook (at www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/rick-steves/travel-as-a-political-act/9781478977155).
When my publisher said we needed to reprint the book, I said, “Trump, Erdogan, refugees, nativism, fascism, fake news, and Brexit. Not until we rework it for all the changes impacting travel these days.” The third edition is 290 pages of travel thrills and insights that I like to think would win the endorsement of Mark Twain (“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness”), Thomas Jefferson (“Travel makes a person wiser, but less happy”), and Muhammad (“Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you’ve traveled”).
This clip shows about one minute of the 22 hours I spent in what felt like a padded cell, reading the book out loud. In the end, the finished audiobook is about ten hours, and I am thrilled with the final product.
(BTW, I’m donating all the royalties from the sale of the book and audiobook to Bread for the World, a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to ending hunger.)
